What does faith mean in practice?
A growing trust in God; a growing love of Christ.
A cost; a choice.
To do what is right, or what is wrong?
To do what is easy, or what is hard?
To lay down one’s life, or cling to it at all costs?
What does faith mean in practice?
To trust, beyond pain;
To trust, beyond loss.
To trust, beyond corruption, or fear.
To trust, beyond death.
Thanks for these thoughts. They do extend my thinking on faith. By way of a contribution let me add that over the last few years I have come to understand that true faith only exists in the face of mystery. But I observe the ‘faith community’ is very resistant to that truth and is busy erecting formulas to explain God and methods to make God predictable.
We are bombarded with sermons teaching “If we…, then God will…”.
Thanks for these thoughts, Dale! Good to read! Have you ever come across Fowler’s Stages of Faith? He did some research and observed that we go through different developmental stages, and I’ve found these really helpful for understanding where different people can be at. The developmental stage of a church or church leadership can depend upon the particular individual, as well.
In summary? There are 6 stages he observed (and this is my basic understanding): childhood, adolescence, dependent adulthood, independent adulthood, interdependent adulthood, and then actualization. Stages 1-6.
Dependence tends to be black and white: the congregation member depends on the preacher/Bible as the source of truth, without questioning. Structures and laws are black and white.
Independence pulls back from the external authority of truth, and tests it for itself. This person goes through a desert of criticism, testing every aspect of the faith framework in which he or she has been raised. I think of this as a second adolescence in adulthood. 🙂
Interdependence is a second blissful stage of trust: the person’s own approach has been secured in the independent phase, and now the external and the internal come together. The person offers themselves for the sake of the whole. Mystery is a big part of this phase: the childlike wonder returns, and the unknown becomes a joy.
Actualization is beyond this phase.
So, yeah: some churches are quite rigid, but others are more open to possibility beyond what is known. As to ‘If we, then God will…’ well, yeah: God is God. He can do as he pleases.
Hope you get to read this, and have a good day!